Would I Benefit From Seeing a Psychotherapist or Counsellor?

We all experience painful feelings at one time or another in our lifes. Many feelings such as sadness, hopelessness, anxiety and stress naturally arise as part of living life. For instance, it is quite normal to feel stress or anxiety before an interview or exam.

Where it becomes a problem is when these feelings overwhelm you so much that it becomes hard for you to function normally in your day to day life.

If you are stressed, tearful, have trouble sleeping or eating, have poor concentration, lack direction, have low energy and motivation, are drinking or using drugs excessively, have persistent low mood, having trouble controlling your temper or getting along with other people, then you should seriously consider seeing a psychotherapist.

Episodic and Long-term Problems

Some problems are a reaction to stressful events in our life, such as losing a job, financial difficulties, a bereavement, public speaking, bullying at work, a relationship breakup or getting divorced.

Other problems however, can be more chronic or life-long and exist even when they we are not in a period of extreme stress. These may be patterns of low self esteem or low confidence, negativity, bad relationships, persistent low mood, obsessive thinking, trouble holding onto jobs, motivational problems, and habitual difficulty getting along with others.

Psychotherapy and counselling can effectively help you deal with both episodic and chronic problems.

Whats the difference between psychotherapy and counselling?

This is not a straightforward question to answer as a lot will depend on the therapists initial and on-going training.

In the context of mental health, counselling is generally used to denote a treatment that offers a sympathetic listening ear, ventilation of feelings, and suggestions and advice. A psychotherapist will be trained in the use of counselling skills, but will additionally be trained in more directive ways of working, to help the client to make deeper personal change by gaining a deeper insight into their chronic emotional and physical problems. It’s focus is on helping the client change deeper thought processes and ways of being in the world. Cawley classifies counselling as Level 1 – Outer level, Relief and Support, and psychotherapy as Level 3 to 4 – Deeper level, Exploration and Change. (Cawley, 1977)

In actual practice there can be quite a bit of overlap between counselling and psychotherapy. Generally speaking, however, psychotherapy requires much longer training than counselling. 2 to 3 years training to be a counsellor, compared to 4 to 6 years training to be a psychotherapist. While a psychotherapist is trained to provide counselling, a counsellor may or may not possess the necessary training to provide psychotherapy. A lot will really depend on the individual therapists training.

A trainee psychotherapist is also required to undergo quite a considerable amount of both personal and group therapy during their training. This is to ensure that they have worked through their own personal issues and do not bring them into the consulting room. A trainee counsellor may not necessarily be required to have much counselling themselves, again it depends on their training requirements.

What is Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)?

NLP creates a model of how individuals structure their own unique experiences in life. Using NLP we can step into your view of the world to discover, patterns of thought, beliefs, values and using NLP processes, help you to change those patterns, set compelling goals, build motivation and change your life for the better.

As well as offering NLP for therapy, Life Coaching and Business Coaching, I also integrate NLP extensively within my psychotherapy and counselling sessions.

So what does that mean?

It means that by understanding how your mind works, you can change it so that is always working for you and improving your life and the lives of those around you.

Who can benefit from using NLP?

People from all walks of life use NLP personally and professionally. Often called the “Psychology of excellence” NLP is used for a multitude of reasons.

For example:

Individuals using Neuro Linguistic Programming for Life Coachingfor self improvement, will find it easier to achieve their goals, overcome their problems and develop new skills, because they gain greater access to their internal resources.

Businesses can utilise NLP for Business Coachingto greatly improve their sales and customer service as well as interpersonal management skills.

Educators can learn how each child learns best by studying the verbal and nonverbal language of a child. Education is communication of knowledge and experience through which one can retain the knowledge. NLP is used to strengthen communication skills of educators so that each student gains the most in the shortest amount of time.

Counsellors can help clients make lasting changes quickly and with lasting results. In a day and age when long drawn out therapies with limited results is the norm, NLP provides a fast and highly effective alternative.

Medical and Dental Professionals can eliminate patients’ fears and anxieties about procedures. Along with the use of hypnotherapy to eliminate any possible pain the client may be anticipating.

Athletes can utilise NLP techniques to improve performance and concentration as well as mastering the skills they need to excel.

Actors & Performers can utilise NLP techniques in auditions and casting calls to get jobs. During performances NLP can assist in memorising lines as well unifying the performer with the character or image they are presenting for a more powerful performance.

In short, you will find it easier to achieve your personal and professional goals, because you’ll gain greater access to your internal resources as well as have more fun while doing it.

When you are committed to make the inner changes you need, to achieve the life you want, simply phone me on 0161 881 4333 or Click here to email to make an appointmen tnow.

Ecotherapy

I am very interested in taking therapy out of the consulting room and using our natural environment as a way to powerfully stimulate our awareness and promote change. Research has shown that this can be a remarkably effective method of personal change. It uses all the benefits of psychotherapy, counselling and coaching combined with outdoor activities. Suitable for anyone, but particularly effective for those who love nature and the great outdoors. May also be successfully combined with my standard sessions held in my consulting room.

I offer a number of nature-based therapies, ranging from walking therapy through to weekend workshops held in beautiful woodland in North Wales.

Interested? Please get in touch by simply phoning me on 0161 881 4333 or Click here to email to make an enquiry.

Training, and Hypnosis and NLP Related Workshops

Although I do get lots of enquiries about training courses, I do not offer training or courses in psychotherapy, though I can recommend some good trainers.

However I do occasionally run hypnotherapy, NLP, coaching and Ecotherapy related one and two day workshops in Manchester, covering various subjects such as introduction to NLP, Successfully Working with Anxiety and Panic Attacks Masterclass, Self hypnosis, controlling eating habits, stress management, habit busting and life enhancement. Sign up to our mailing list to be kept up to date.